Electric railway-switch



PATENTED FEB. 23, 1904.

H. CHANDLER. ELEGTRIG RAILWAY "SWITCH;

AIPLIOATION FILED OUT. 24, 1903.

N0 MODEL WITNEE hw( flit UNITED STATES Patented February 23, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ELECTRIC RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 52,824, dated February 93, 1904.

Application filed Octob'r 24., 1903. Sarial No. 178,408. (No model.)

To all, whom it may concern: l Be it known that I, HARRY H. CHANDLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Waltham, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Electric Railway-Switches, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of railway-switches that are operated by the same electric current that gives motion to the train; and it consists in the peculiar arrangement of the magnet and its adjuncts, which may be best understood by reference to the specification as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure 1 is aplan of an electric railwayswitch and connecting-rails made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan, enlarged, of the switch and its electric connections. Fig. 3 is an elevation of switch and its electric connections. Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on line lof Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a detail.

In the drawings, A represents the tongueswitch, and A the dumb-switch, of the set. The switch-tongue C swingson the pivot C and is operated by a magnet of peculiar construction,- which may be described as follows: The core of the magnet consists of two horizontal arms M M, the vertical members M M and the yoke M. Each of the arms M M is made hollow, so as to form a suction-magnet or a magnet of the class that draws its armature into its interior. D and D, Figs. 2 and 4, represent the armatures, each of which has a spring S to force it outward when the magnet is not energized. This action of the springs acting through the armatures D D will force the tongue C into the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2-that is, the car will be kept upon the straight track; but if the magnet is energized then the tongue C of the switch will be drawn over to the position shown by the dotted lines, Fig. 2, and the car will run onto the branch. To keep the springs S S in place anddat the required tension, screws T T are use I The switches A and A and the rails R R, Fig. 1, are insulated from the other parts R RR of the track, as shown at E E. The arms M M of the magnet are magnetically insulated from the switch by the bushingpiece H H H of non-magnetic metal. (Shown in detail in Fig. 5.)

The switches A A and the short rails R R are insulated from the tracks R R, R R and R R The wires W and W serve to keep up the electric circuit on the other parts of the track when the current is out off from switches and the short rails R R, so as not to interfere with cars that may be coming toward or going from the insulated portion of the railway.

The operation of my device is as follows: If a car is coming on the track in the direction indicated by the arrow and is to continue on the straight line R R then as soon as the car reaches the rails R R the trolley is drawn away from the trolley-wire, thus cutting out the current that would otherwise pass through the wire W and the magnets that act on the tongue C of the switch. This electrical cutting out of magnet will leave the switchtongue in the position shown in the drawings and the car will run (by its own momentum) onto the rails R R of the straight track; but if the trolley is left in connection with its trolley-wire then the electric current will pass through the wire W and energize the magnet, which acting through the armatures D D will draw the tongue C of the switch over to the left, so as to cause the car to run onto the track R R (The current being on will propel the car through the switch.)

It is perfectly obvious that if the magnet were placed on the other side of the switch then the trolley would be left on its wire when the car was to go straight ahead and would be withdrawn when the car is to turn off.

I claim In an electric railway-switch device; an insulated section of track including a pair of switches; a switch-tongue adapted to be operated by an electromagnet; an electromagnet having hollow arms and plunger armato this specification, in the presence of tWo subtures; an electric circuit connected to the said scribing Witnesses, on this 19th day of Octoinsulated section of track and adapted to enher, A. D. 1908.

ergize said magnet and connect With the trol- HARRY H. CHANDLER. 5 ley device; substantially as and for the pur- Witnesses:

pose set forth. FRANK G. PARKER,

In testimony whereof I have signed my name JOHN BUCKLER. 

